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Lisa Lambert
Lisa Marie Lambert (June 1, 1969 - December 31, 1993) was one of three people killed in Humboldt, Nebraska on New Year's Eve in 1993. The perpetrators, John Lotter and Tom Nissen, broke into her home looking for Brandon Teena, a transgender male whom they had beaten and raped days earlier. Upon finding Teena inside the home, the men shot Lambert, Teena, and Phillip DeVine, a visitor staying with Lambert at the time of the murders. It was later revealed that Lotter and Nissen had begun looking for Teena in an attempt to kill him after he told the authorities that the men had raped him. Lambert's mother Anna Mae found the bodies the next day, along with Lambert's toddler, Tanner, who was unharmed. Lotter and Nissen are currently in prison for the murders, with Lotter awaiting execution and Nissen serving a life sentence. Brandon Teena's story was chronicled in the 1998 documentary The Brandon Teena Story ''as well as a biographical film based on Teena's life and the murders, ''Boys Don't Cry. In the film, Lisa Lambert is renamed "Candace," and is portrayed by American actress Alicia Goranson. Early Life Not much is known about Lambert's early life, except that she was born on June 1, 1969, in Pawnee City, Nebraska. Personal Life Lisa Lambert was a single mother living in Humboldt, Nebraska, but born and raised in Pawnee City. She had graduated from a community college and was working as a nurse's aide at the Colonial Acres nursing home at the time of her death. She would often let friends who were new to Falls City or the Humboldt area stay with her if they had no money, in exchange for their help at home. One person Lambert was friends with was a resident of Falls City, Nebraska, Lana Tisdel. By 1993, Lambert had a son, Tanner. Affiliation with Brandon Teena In 1993, Brandon Teena (Teena Renae Brandon), a transgender male, had entered Falls City, Nebraska, after having some trouble with the courts in Lincoln. Although anatomically female, Teena had identified himself as male to the local residents of the town. He became friends with Lisa Lambert, who soon let him move into her house in Humboldt. Teena began dating Lambert's friend Lana Tisdel, who lived in Falls City, and began making friends with Tisdel's family including her sister Leslie, her mother Linda, her friend Michelle Lotter, and two ex-convicts, John Lotter and Tom Nissen. During a Christmas Eve Party, Lotter and Nissen grabbed Teena and forced him to remove his pants, attempting to prove to everyone including Tisdel that Teena was anatomically female. Tisdel said nothing and looked away, while covering her eyes. Lotter forced her to look, and she did so only briefly. Both men later assaulted Teena, and forced him into a car. They drove to an area outside a meat-packing plant in Richardson County where they assaulted and raped him. Afterwards, they drove Teena to Nissen's house and ordered him to take a shower. Teena escaped through the bathroom window and fled to Tisdel's house, where Tisdel and her mother Linda convinced him to file a police report. After they had raped him, Lotter and Nissen had warned Teena not to tell the police about the rape or they would "silence him permanently". Teena was later treated at the emergency room, where a rape kit was assembled and later lost. Lotter and Nissen soon learned about the report, and began to search for Teena. When they did not find him, they were briefly questioned three days later, and then released when sheriff Charles B. Laux lacked the evidence needed to make the official arrest. Murders On New Year's Eve, December 31, 1993, Lotter and Nissen came to the Tisdel residence and threatened Lana and her family. Under pressure, they revealed that Brandon was staying at Lisa Lambert's house in Humboldt. Both men then proceeded to drive to Humboldt where they broke into Lambert's home armed with a .380 caliber pistol. Lotter and Nissen opened fire, killing Brandon with a single gunshot wound to the head. When he began twitching, Nissen took Lotter's pocket knife and stabbed his body once. Afterwards, the pair shot Lambert in the chest and face, before shooting visitor Phillip DeVine in the head. The pair then left the scene of the crime with Lambert's toddler Tanner left alive in the house. All three bodies were discovered the next day by Anna Mae Lambert, Lisa's mother. Lisa Marie Lambert is currently buried at the Pawnee City Cemetery, in Pawnee City, Nebraska. Boys Don't Cry (1999) In 1999, actress Alicia "Lecy" Goranson was cast in the Academy Award-winning dramatization Boys Don't Cry, in which she portrays Candace, a resident of Humboldt but close friend of Lana Tisdel (Chloe Sevigny) and Kate Lotter (Alison Folland), who reside in Falls City. The character of 'Candace' is based on Lisa Marie Lambert, the producers giving the character that name out of respect for Lambert's family. Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank) first encounters her in a bar in Lincoln where they talk and initially become close friends. Candace would later allow Teena to stay over at her house in Humboldt while he became more acquainted to the Falls City area. Later in the film however, Candace discovers one of Teena's forged checks and becomes suspicious, confronting a confused Lana and Kate about what she found. She later accompanied John Lotter (Peter Sarsgaard), Tom Nissen (Brendan Sexton III) and Kate to Lana's house where they were apart of what would be a cruel intervention to scare Brandon. After Tom and John beat and raped Brandon, she allowed him to stay over again to hide from the pair who were now planning to murder him. It wouldn't be long before they arrived at the house past dark, armed with a Walther PPK .380 caliber pistol. As the pair broke into the house, Teena attempted to intervene and talk to Lotter, when Lana appeared, begging that Candace had a baby inside. Lotter shot Teena under the chin, threw down the pistol, and Tom picked it up and fired a shot at Candace killing her. In order to make sure that Teena was dead, Tom also stabbed him in the chest, much to Lana's horror. The pair then fled the scene, leaving Candace's infant behind with Lana.